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Campus celebrates Native America
Women’s cross country captain breaks record
News, page 2
WHO’S NEWS Student confident about award
Sports, page 3
CityTimes
Volume 62, Number 6
Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
Tight budget doesn’t stop DSPS Program
Benjamin Cruz City Times Most people who never finish high school, let alone not attend it, return years later for a GED, get a job and live their life. B u t that is not the case for T if fany Williams w h o never w e n t to high school Tiffany Willams at all. S o m e years after the 8th grade, she earned her GED and decided to go to City college. Now, she may very well be City college’s first student ever to be nominated for the International Scholar Laureate Program. “I am a member of Phi Theta Kappa and was nominated for the National Dean’s List for 2006-2007, and the Dean’s List then nominated me for the ISLP,” Williams said. “John from EOPS said he’s only seen the ISLP on a university level.” It will give her the opportunity to go to another country and understand their social and economical perspectives, and study the international relationship between the U.S. and those nations. As a political science major, Williams said she would like to travel to Australia and study their parliament, which is offered in the ISLP. Though not an Associated Students officer, she attends regular meetings and is very involved in the school. “I know Francisco Fabian (previous student president) and Clemente Valdez (current student president), I’m not in the Associated Students, but I’m involved with the school as much as possible. I am in Trio-Aspire, EOPS and other
INDEX News/Calendar........................... 2 Sports........................................3
November 13, 2007
Katie Dunn City Times
Cari Arthur City Times
Campus marks Day of the Dead Dia de los Muertos display from Professor Orozco-Toops’s class.
Walk/run held to benefit college’s Fitness Center Whitney Lawrence City Times A bright, dewy early Nov. 10 at Morley Field served as the backdrop while hundreds gathered, talking and stretching, exuding the kind of electric energy that only runners possess at seven in the morning. Not a cup of coffee in sight. City College Fitness Center sponsored its annual 3 mile walk/ run fundraiser and hosted the San Diego Cross Country Championship race on Nov. 10. All proceeds directly benefit the fitness center. “I really want to provide the fitness center with a monitor for scrolling announcements, where we can post fitness tips and upcoming events,” Fitness Center Director Paul Greer said. Patti Tuffley, an adjunct professor at City, worked the registration table of the event and said that by 8 a.m. about 300 people had signed up to run. “I volunteered because I work at the fitness center. The proceeds we raise for this event basically help to enhance student’s
performance and experience at the fitness center,” Tuffley said. “And we have a great day for it.” The day kicked off at 7:30 a.m. with the walk/run. Open to the community, about 20 people participated, most of which were City faculty and students who paid $10 to join the race. Each participant received a race souvenir (bracelets donning “San Diego City College Fitness Center,” and Naked Juice set up a tent to provide the runners with healthy natural juice before and after their races, a complimentary service. Juan Guzman, a City student, finished in first place and said though he runs on his own in his spare time, he was really there “for the extra credit, honestly.” City College biology professor Paul Kingston placed second and said, “I’m here to help raise funds for the fitness center, and for personal enjoyment.” Another City College student, Carl Quesada, said he heard about the race in his health class and ended up coming in third place.
See RUN, page 2
Financial cutbacks in Calif. four years ago may have discouraged some programs, but at City College the Disabled Student Center, or DSPS Program, couldn’t be more alive and progressive. The DSPS graduation rate has more than doubled in the past year, and counselors are now taking on multiple jobs to accommodate the program and its students. “The bulk of the money [we receive] goes to salaries and [employee] benefits,” said Barbara Mason, Program Coordinator of DSPS, when explaining how money is allocated throughout the program. “We don’t do a whole lot until the end of the year when we decide how many more months of salaries and benefits have we got, and what’s left.” Lack of resources prevents the office from properly staffing itself and stretches the remaining funds as far as possible to cover all expenses. With the student population rising, Mason aims to hire two more counselors when funding becomes available. She is not sure at this point how soon that will be. Though the funding is disabling the program from hiring new officials, the employees are upbeat and positive, which contributes to the success of each student. Regardless of funding or situations, the office cannot turn away any student who needs their services and does everything possible to accommodate their needs. “I think students here get exactly what they need in relation to their education,” said DSPS Counselor, Brian Stochert, who also teaches private DSPS classes. Stochert’s technique has reformed the way classes are taught and propelled its student forward. He would like to see more classes in the program, but with lack of counselors they can’t expand. “It’s not just about students with disabilities, it’s about why people don’t learn and why they can’t get from point A to point B.”
“Our funding is based upon the number of DSPS students we have and what disability they have,” said Mason “So, there’s a range, your visually impaired and your hard of hearing pay big bucks, and then it goes down to those disabilities that don’t pay much but need a lot of attention.” The less apparent the disability, the further down on the totem pole of funding. The visually impaired number of students is on the rise at City, but Mesa College is now leading in funding for DSPS programs and has the largest amount of hearing impaired students. DSPS classes are designed to help students more thoroughly understand material given in core classes and apply concepts to help them retain information. Recently, DSPS been working with faculty in different departments to help strengthen their teaching as well as to learn how they can more actively help their disabled students. Debra Wright-Howard, Access Technology Specialist, has accelerated the program by developing new innovative ways to accommodate disabled students using technology. For example, as sign language interpreters are hard to find and employ, Wright-Howard has found a way to link interpreters across the states to students in classrooms using live feeds on their computers. When students are enrolled in the program they have access to private testing rooms longer test times, technologically advanced equipment and personal support. There are four rooms in the office for testing and when used, each requires a proctor. They all contain laptops and other equipment to assist in the testing. The employees working for the DSPS program are not just working for a paycheck, but for the benefit of their students. Stochert stated, “Instead of being on the sidelines and being segregated from the rest of the students, I think people need to realize, you have people with disabilities on your faculty, on your administration, not just your students - and they need attention.”
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NEWS / CALENDAR
City Times
November 13, 2007
Heartbeat of the drum The Grass Dance, pictured left, is performed by Michael Cadotte of the Kumeyaay tribe during the Red Earth Appreciation Day celebration November 8 in Gorton Quad. Dancer Black Star Eyed Eagle, pictured right, shows off elaborate wings during the event, held to celebrate Native American culture.
Photos by SHEVAUN BRANDOM City Times
CityTimes Volume 62, Issue 6 November 13, 2007
City Times is published twice monthly during the semester. Signed opinions are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent those of the entire newspaper staff, City College administration, faculty and staff or the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees. District policy statement This publication is produced as a learning experience under a San Diego Community College District instructional program. All materials, including opinions expressed herein, are the sole responsibility of the students and should not be interpreted to be those of the college district, its officers or employees. Member: Journalism Association of Community Colleges, Associated Collegiate Press and California Newspaper Publishers Association
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Just Quit Accoriding to the American Cancer Society
75% of smokers in college say they won’t be smoking two years after college... most of them believe it will be easier to quit without the stress of school. But surveys show that many of these graduates continue to smoke, and often wish they had never started.
Get Help and double your chances to succeed. For assistance with quitting, visit Student Health Services in Room A-116 or call (619)388-3450.
or for more help and info
Call 1.800.NO.BUTTS This material is made possible with funds received from the Tobacco Tax Health Protection Act of 1988 - Prop. 99, through the California Department of Health Services, under Grant No. 05-45721, administered by PHFE Management Solutions.
CALENDAR
Published as: The Jay Sees / 1945-1949 Fortknightly / 1949-1978 City Times / 1978Incorporating the newspapers Tecolote, Knight Owl and Flicks
COMMUNITIES AGAINST SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Compiled by Shevaun Brandom Send items to City Times, 1313 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101, e-mail citytimes@gmail.com, call (619) 388-3880, or fax (619) 388-3814
November n Nov. 13, 10 a.m. - 2p.m. National chemistry week celebration Gorton Quad n Nov. 14, 7:30 a.m. “Who’s Who in Business” Lecture Room D-121d, free admission
n Nov. 26, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. College Book Sale Gorton Quad n Nov. 19, 8:15 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Make Your Money Count, Students In Free Enterprise Room D12
December
n Nov. 17, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. “One World” - “Firestorm 2007” Kobey Swapmeet , Space “O” 11-14
n Dec. 7, 2p.m., Dec. 8, 8p.m. Dance Concert, $10 student, $15 general Saville Theatre
n Nov. 26, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Live art Challenge Curran Plaza
n Dec. 7, 8p.m., Dec. 8, 2 & 8p.m. Anthology of the Cuban Spirit Saville Theatre, $10 student, $15 general
November 13, 2007
SPORTS
City Times 3
Women’s cross country captain breaks personal record Benjamin Cruz City Times For women’s cross country captain Samantha Alvarez, breaking her personal record at the Mount San Antonio College track is proof that the Knights are as tough as other southern California college runners. “I couldn’t believe the clock when I was running up the finish line,” Alvarez said about breaking her record on Nov 3. “Alvarez’s hard work and dedication to the program over the past two years saw her time of 30 minutes, 8 seconds from 2006 drop to 23 minutes, 3 seconds,” Coach Kylie Edwards said. “Ironically, the Mount San Antonio College course was the venue for her first and last college race as a Knight.” Edwards is impressed that her almost all freshmen team placed fourth in the Pacific
Coast Conference Championships. “I’m really excited about my team this year, Edwards said. “They progressed very quickly, I am very impressed on how they handled themselves throughout the season.” Alvarez is the only student out of 10 Knight runners to return from the 2006 season. The rest were freshman. Alvarez said the rules at community colleges don’t allow her to run for a third season. “I want to come back next semester as an assistant coach because I can’t compete for more than two years at the community college level,” Alvarez said. City faced tough competition from conference schools Southwestern, Palomar, Grossmont, Mesa, and Cuyamaca this year. Alvarez is planning for a successful track campaign before transferring to San Diego State, Edwards said.
Samantha Alvarez (No. 506, center) poses with her team.
Benjamin Cruz City Times
Two Pacific Coast Conference games left for women’s volleyball season Nailah Edmondson City Times Dodging a hail storm of volleyballs from the constant rolls, approaches blocks and hits is an average eveing in City Colleges’ Harry West gymnaisum. Always working hard and striving to become the best, City Colleges women’s volleyball team have only two Pacific Coast Conference games left this season. Unlike many four year schools City College lacks consistency in returning players due to a various amount of reasons. This
Knights lead PCC Benjamin Cruz City Times It was a long week for City College’s mens soccer Nov. 2-10, who played five games every other day. They had to make up games they couldn’t play during the wildfires week. On Nov. 5, the Knights defeaded MiraCosta 7-3 at home. However, captain Charles Khuen suffered a leg injury during the first half of the game. This injury prevented him from playing the Nov. 07 game at Palomar College. As of Nov. 7, the Knights have won 7 Pacific Coast Conference games, lost two and tied once. They lead the PCC with 22 points. Behind the Knights is Southwestern College at No. 2 with 20 points.
season the womens volleball team is made up of 10 new players and 2 returners. So far this season the team is 4-6 and 79 including preseason games. Leaders this season include Freshmen Erin Bull and Courtney Porter as kill leaders. Freshman Darlene Nwagbuo as the block leader and sophomore Kate Ulevich as assists leader. “I have the best team i’ve probably ever had in my life this season”,Coach Dede Bodnar said. From Long Beach Dede Bodnar became the womens volleyball coach partime in
1994 and fulltime in 1996. In high school she competed in volleyball,track,softball and basketball. Her college career brought her to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she received her Bachelors’ in Industrial Technology with a concentration in Plant Facilities Management and a Masters in Kinesiology. After certain circumstances this year Kate Ulevich a former outside passer and hitter took on the new position of setter. Ulevich a dedicated team member works diligently on perfecting the posotion. “It’s like learning a whole new skill in
your life”, bodnar said As experience goes many of the players are fairly new compared to the teams in their conference. Discouraging to most but not the City College Womens Volleyball team it’s just a mere challenge motivating them to work harder. As a coach but a teacher first and foremost bodnar feels as though teaching has an advantage over just being a coach. “My players are learning how to play the game better then all the other teams”, Bodnar said.
Run
season was done.” Greer said, “I’m happy they get to run one more time this year.” During those races, local teams were gearing up for the 4 mile San Diego Cross Country Championship, including the San
Diego Track Club and Bonita Road Runners. All entry fee’s for the competition benefit the fitness center, and over $4,000 in prize money was handed out to winners by USA Track and Field.
Continued from page 1
In between the walk/run and the San Diego Cross Country Championship was a race held, free of charge. For the Knights and other teams, this meant the last chance to compete for the season. The PCC meet was cancelled because of the wildfires, and only seven out of 15 team members at City were allowed to run at the So Cal Conference on November 3. Greer said it was hard on the athletes, especially those who had been fighting for the top positions on the team. “The fires impacted (City College) athletes because we had to tell 8 guys their
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City Times
November 13, 2007